Comparison of the nutritional status of adolescent girls in the secondary schools of two educational districts of Kerman, Iran

Objective: To evaluate and compare the nutritional status of adolescent girls in two educational districts in the city of Kerman. There were some social and economic differences between the two districts. Methods: We went to schools in the two districts and picked 395 students by classified cluster sampling. Questionnaires dealing with social and economic data were filled up by interviewing mothers and for an approximate 20% of the sample blood tests were performed to measure hemoglobin and hematocrit. Assessment of nutritional status was done using the following indices: weight for age (WA), height for age (HA) and Body Mass Index. The WA and HA were evaluated based on NCHS and the BMI was assessed based on CDC data.Results: The mean hemoglobin values in the first and second districts were 13.97 and 14.04, while mean hematocrit values in districts 1 and 2 were 43.05% and 43.7% respectively; none of these differences were statistically significant. The rate of severe malnutrition in the first and second districts based on the index of weight for age and according to standard growth charts were 3.9% and 4.7%, while the same rate based on the index of height for age was 7% and 4.7% respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. Intake of energy, protein, vitamin A, iron and zinc was greater in the first district but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Our findings showed that in both districts the rate of protein and iron intake exceeded 100% of RDA; the rate of zinc intake in the first district was 106.2%. In both districts the lowest amount of intake was recorded for calcium. The difference between the daily intakes of nutrients in the two districts was not statistically significant.Conclusion: This study showed that the nutritional status is similar in the two educational districts of Kerman in terms of anemia, food intake and malnutrition; we recommend that their intake of foods rich in calcium and vitamin A be increased.